True Quality CleaningStraight talk about caring for fine garments & household textiles from an expert who calls it like it is. In plain English.

My dry cleaned garments smell of dry cleaning solvent! Why?

A new client brought in an armful of sweaters. She explained
that she dropped off her sweaters at her cleaner and that they now
smelled of dry cleaning solvent. She wanted to know why this
happened and whether I could remove the odor.

I told
her that, yes indeed, I could remove the odor from her sweaters and
then proceeded to explain why her "dry clean only" garments
sometimes smell like dry cleaning solvent.

One reason your clothes will smell of dry cleaning solvent is if
your cleaner shortens the dry and deodorize cycle on his dry
cleaning machine.

This often happens at ordinary cleaners where the pressure to
"get the garments out" (i.e., into a machine, onto a press and into
a bag) is constant and hectic.

But more likely than not, you're not smelling dry cleaning
solvent or fluid. You're smelling contaminants in the dry cleaning
solvent or fluid.

Let me explain.

Garments and household textiles should always be cleaned in dry
cleaning fluid that's both continuously purified
and continuously filtered. Every single drop. This way your
garments and household textiles are cleaned in dry cleaning solvent
or fluid that's absolutely crystal clear. As clear as bottled
mountain spring water.

Continuous purification is much like boiling your
tap water at home to obtain pure water; continuous filtration is
much like filtering your tap water to remove any additional
impurities.

It's the difference between a black and white TV with mono sound
and a high definition screen with surround sound.

Unfortunately, very few ordinary cleaners both continuously
purify every single drop of their dry cleaning solvent or fluid
before and after each load, and continuously filter every single
drop of their dry cleaning solvent or fluid during each load.

So soluble impurities, such as bacteria, residual dyes, body
oils, oily-type creams and lotions, and food fats accumulate in the
dry cleaning solvent or fluid. And insoluble impurities, such as
sand, skin flakes and hair, float around in the dry cleaning
solvent or fluid.

These soluble impurities
are then absorbed by the fibers of your garments and household
textiles during the dry cleaning "wash" cycle. In particular,
natural fibers, such as silk, wool, linen and cotton, absorb these
impurities like a sponge absorbs liquid.

In effect, your garments and household textiles are being
cleaned in "dirty dry cleaning solvent or fluid." It's just like
washing your clothes at home and reusing the same dirty water over
and over again.